Kelly hoping to boost city’s selfie confidence

If council agrees, city hall’s popular TORONTO sign may be matched by the 6, T.O. and T.Dot

Selfies in “the 6ix” may be about to get a lot cooler.

That is, if council backs Scarborough Councillor Norm Kelly’s motion to explore making three new 3D Toronto landmark signs.

But Kelly doesn’t just want duplicates of the glowing “TORONTO” letters now standing permanently in Nathan Phillips Square outside city hall — where the Os have been particularly loved by locals and tourists alike.

Kelly has suggestions for three new signs: “The 6,” “T.O.” and “T. Dot.”

Drake — who practically knighted Kelly on social media after the councillor came to the Toronto rapper’s defence over some now-old-news Twitter beef with rival rapper Meek Mill — would earn a prominent shout-out from city hall if the signs were approved and installed. The 6, or the 6ix, was popularized after the Forest Hill-raised Aubrey Graham (a.k.a. Drake) spit about “runnin’ through the 6” with his “woes.”

“The recent installation of the 3D Toronto sign on Nathan Phillips Square has been enthusiastically received by Torontonians,” Kelly wrote in his motion to be heard at city council next week. “In addition to being a display of our civic confidence, it has become an effective branding tool for the city.”

He said the addition of signs using Toronto nicknames would “reinforce the modern, ‘cool’ Toronto brand.”

But it’s not clear whether council would back the expense.

The original Toronto sign, built for the Pan Am Games, cost nearly $100,000 — an amount that included a built-in budget for operating and maintenance. Kelly’s motion suggests the city pursue possible sponsorship deals.

City council meets again Nov. 3.

“The recent installation of the 3D Toronto sign on Nathan Phillips Square has been enthusiastically received by Torontonians.”

COUNCILLOR NORM KELLY